Display counter apparatus



July 1936- R. MAPSON DISPLAY COUNTER APPARATUS Filed March 17, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l July 28,1936. R AP QN 2,048,802

DISPLAY COUNTER APPARATUS Filed March 1'7, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 wwvfae 055?? L. M41 50 July 28, 1936. R. MAPSON DISPLAY COUNTER APPARATUS Filed March 17, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 &

July 28, 1 936. R. MAPSON DI SPLAY COUNTER APPARATUS Filed March 1'7, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 o OOOOOQ 0OO0O 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000 000000000000000 m ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooo man/m? 14 05527 A- MAI/050V Patented July 28, 1936 UNITED STATES 2,048,802 DISPLAY (i'OUNTER APPARATUS Robert L. Mapson, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to M. & D. Display Mfg. Corporation, Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application March 17, 1934, Serial No. 716,191

I 9 Claims.

My invention relates to display counters and more particularly to counters which are partitioned into a number of suitable compartments for the display of merchandise.

The invention covered by this application is an improvement over that disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,911,377, issued May 30, 1933 on Display counter apparatus.

In the merchandising of small articles such as notions, hardware, small toys, and the like, the common practice is to display such articles on counters which are provided with compartments suitable in size to accommodate the various articles. One form of display counter which is at present widely used employs a great number of wooden boxes which are positioned b0ttomside'- up on the counters. Sheets of glass are vertically supported between adjacent boxes to form the desired compartments of the counter. The boxes are urged into supporting relation with the glass partitions by forcing strips of cardboard, or the like, between the outer walls of the counter and the boxes which are positioned adjacent these walls. After wedging a number of rows of these boxes into firm supporting relation with the vertical glass partitions, considerable strain is exerted against the outer walls of.

the counter which often results in breaking the glass partitions between the boxes and tearing the walls loose from the top of the counter. An additional undesirable feature of this type of construction is that a different sized box is required for each size of compartment, and care must be exercised in placing these boxes on the counters as each transverse rowof boxes must be substantially equal in length.

An object of my invention is to provide a suitable compartment iorming apparatus by means of which diiierent sized compartments can be quickly and easily formed on a display counter.

It is also an important object of my invention to greatly increase the choice in size and shape of the compartments available for holding goods in a counter display apparatus and to increase the ease with which these compartments may be formed.

Another object of my invention is to provide suitable compartment forming apparatus for .display counters which can be used without changing or adding to the counters which are in use at present.

A further object of my inventionis the provision of a compartment forming apparatus for display counters which is self-contained and one which does not exert abnormal strains on'the counter.

, Another object of my invention is to provide a display counter unit which can be built up into elevated display units. 5'

The means by which I accomplish the foregoing objects, as well as other objects and advantages, will be-made manifest in the following description taken-in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 1

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display counter upon which a preferred embodiment of my invention is mounted.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in 15 Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged perspective views of parts of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5, 6, and '7 are fragmentary sectional views showing the manner in which a portion 20 of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is assembled.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view further illustrating the use of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in 25 Fig. 1.

Figs. 10 and 11 are perspective views showing certain parts used in forming the fixture shown in Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a horizontal sectional view taken on 39 the line 12-42 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of another part of the apparatus of my invention.

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view showing another manner of assembling the apparatus of my invention.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of a rotatable clip embodied in my invention.

Fig. 16 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line |5-'i6 of Fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view of another form of rotatable clip of my invention.

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary plan view showing the use of the clips shown in Figs. 15 and 1'7.

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary plan view of a modifled form of my invention.

Fig. 201s a perspective view of a clip used with the modified form of my invention.

Referring specifically to the drawings, a counter display apparatus ill, comprising a preferred embodiment of my invention, is shown in Fig. 1, this apparatus including a flat compartment forming apparatus II and an elevated compartment forming apparatus H. The apparatus It is shown as being used on a display counter I5, as

it being understood that any other table or surface might be substituted for the counter |5. The counter |5 is of conventional design having a base portion l6 and top H, the front and ends of the counter l5 being provided with permanent glass plates l8.

The fiat compartment forming apparatus includes a plurality of platforms 20 having vertical supporting walls 2|, said platforms being perforated to provide equally spaced rows of equally spaced apertures 22 as shown in Fig. 2. Provided at each corner of each of the platforms 20 is a diagonal aperture 23. The platforms 2|) are covered with a sheet of paper 25 upon which transverse partitions 26 and longitudinal partitions 21 are supported by clips 28 and 29, respectively, to form compartments 80.

As shown in Fig. 3, each of the transverse partition supporting clips 28 is formed of a single piece of sheet metal to provide a base 33, a ver-' tical partition receiving portion 34 and a pair of lugs 35 downstruck from the base 33, the lugs 35 being spaced so as to register with any two the platform 20 by inserting a partition 26 into the portion 34 of the clip.

Each of the longitudinal partition supporting clips 29, as shown in Fig. 4, is formed of a single piece of sheet metal to provide a base portion 31, a vertical partition receiving portion 38, and a single lug 39. The clip 29 is locked to the platform 20 by inserting the lug 39 through one of the apertures 22 as shown in Fig. 6 and then rocking the clip to the position in which it is shown in Fig. 7.

As shown in Fig. 8, the transverse clips 28 are designed so as to fit snugly against any of the longitudinal partitions 21 while the longitudinal clips 29 fit snugly against any of the transverse partitions 26, thus permitting the formation of compartments of any desirable size to accommodate the many sizes of articles of merchandise. The paper 25 has not been shown in Fig. 8 and other views of the drawings in order to more clearly show the platforms 28.

In practice the flat compartment forming apparatus is assembled in the following manner. The platforms 20 are positioned side by side snugly against each other so as to completely cover the recessed top H of the counter l5 and are covered with the paper 25, the latter serving to obscure the apertures 22 and give the counter a neat appearance. The counter is then divided into main compartments by inserting the clips 28 along the front and rear edges of the platforms 20 and placing therein the transverse partitions 26, the ends of the latter being received by the clips 28 as shown in Fig. 1. The main compartments are then subdivided into the sub-compartments 30 by inserting the longitudinal clips 29 and placing therein the longitudinal partitions 21. The apertures 22 are located through the paper 25 by sliding the heel portion of one of the clips along the paper so as to mark the location of the apertures prior to inserting the clip.

The elevated compartment forming apparatus l2, shown in Figs. 1 and 9 to l-i inclusive, in-

cludes platforms 46 to 44 placed one upon the other, the platform 48 being identical with the platforms 20, while the platforms 4| to 44 inclusive differ only in size from the platform 28.

A three-way clip 45 used in building the ele- 5 vated display I 2, shown in Fig. 10, includes a base 46, a vertical back 41, and a. lug 48 formed on the base 46. Spot weldedor otherwise secured to the base 46 is a pair of upstanding angle members 49. Fig. 11 shows a two-way or corner clip 52 which is also used in building the elevated dis- "play |2, this clip comprising a base 53, an angu- -sho'wn in Fig. 1. The rear corners of the platform 40 are provided with corner clips 52 by using the aforementioned diagonal apertures 29 as 0 shown in Fig. 9. One of the, three-way clips 45 is placed at each side of the platform 44 in alignment with the front edge of the platform 4|. The latter is then placed on top of the platform 40 so that the angles 56 of the corner clips 25 52 and the innermost angles 49 of the three-way clips 45 are disposed within the side walls of the platform 4|, thus positively aligning the superposed platform with theunder platform as shown clearly in Fig. 12. After positioning the platform 30 4| upon the platform 40 the side walls of the platform 4| are faced with mirror glass 68, the latter being supported by the clips 45 and 52 as shown in Figs. 9 and 12. The platforms 42, 48, and 44 are then positioned in superposed relation in the same manner and the finished fixture as shown in Fig. l is produced.

The platform 44 and the exposed portions of the platforms 40, 4|, 42 and 48 can be divided into smaller compartments (not shown) by using the clips 28 and 29 in the same manner described relative to the fiat compartment apparatus Although I have shown but one form of elevated. display unit, it is clear that a great many different attractive forms of elevated displays can be constructed by different arrangements of the apparatus l2.

Referring to Fig. 13, I have shown therein a three-way clip 62 having a base 63, a back 64, a

pair of lugs 65 downstruck from the base 68, and a pair of angles 66. The clip 62 is similar to theclip 45 with the exception of the pair of lugs 65, the latter permittingthe clip 62 to be positioned on a platform in right angular relation to the position of the clip 45. The clip 62 is used in the construction of an elevated display unit which is greater in width than the unit |2 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 14, the clip 62 may be used to join two platforms, as indicated at 68 and 69, the angles 66 of the clip 62 serving to align the side 60 walls 1| of a pair of platforms superposed upon the platforms 68 and 69, thus providing for the construction of an elevated unit of greater width than the unit |2 as shown.

In practice the elevated display unit I2 built as 86 shown and described herein is a rigid unitary structure which may be easily handled and moved to different positions on the counter l0.

Fig. 15 shows a clip 15 having a base 16 upon which a lug 11 is formed. Rotatably mounted on 70 the base 16 by means of a rivet 18 is a vertical partition supporting member 19. As shown in Fig. 18, a pair of the clips 15 is used to support a diagonal partition 8|. It is clear that a plurality of the partitions 8| can be used to form odd 7 shaped compartments, thus giving the counter a novel appearance and breaking up the monotony of compartments formed by the right angular of a rivet 85 is a U-shaped partition receiving member 85. As shown in Fig. 18, the clip 82 may be used to splice and support the ends of a transverse partition 81. It being clear that the U-shaped member 86 may be rotated 90 degrees so as to splice a longitudinal partition.

Referring to Figs. 19 and 20, I have shown therein a. modified form of counter display apparatus which includes a platform 90 having round apertures 9| in place of the rectangular slots 22 shown in the platform 20. Fig, 20 shows a clip 92 having a base 93, a lug 94, and an upstanding partition receiving portion 95. The clip 92 is mounted on the platform 90 by inserting the lug 9 through one of the apertures 9| and rocking the clip to vertical position in the same manner aforedescribed. After the clip 92 is thus mounted it may be rotated so as to support a longitudinal, transverse or diagonal partition.

In order to distinguish between partitions disposed preferably at right angles and sometimes at acute angles relative to each other, I have referred to these partitions hereinabove as transverse partitions and longitudinal partitions. It is to be understood, however, that these terms when used in the claims are not in any sense limiting the elements defined thereby to having a technically transverse or longitudinal relationship respectively with the major dimensions of the counter equipped with the invention. der to distinguish certain clips, lugs, and apertures from others previously mentioned in the claims, the terms fittingf, tongue means, and "holes will be used respectively in the claims.

It is also to be noted that the various clips described hereinabove have been described as having base portions and having lugs extending downwardly therefrom. It is to be noted that each of the lugs of the clips described has a vertical lug means and then finger means extending horizontally from the lower end of the lug means. These finger means all extend in the opposite direction from the lug means than the base portion of the clip. In other words the lug means extends downwardly at one side of the base portion or bottom of each clip and the finger means extends horizontally from the lower ends of the lug means so as to lie away from under the clip bottom or base. The reason for this is to permit the clip to be inserted through the aperture means of the platform by rocking the clip somewhere between 45" and 90 from its upright position thereby bringing the finger means of the clip into practically a vertical position thus permitting the latter to be inserted directly downwardly through the aperture means of the platform. The clip is now rotated to bring the finger means up against the under face of the platform and bring the base or bottom of the clip against the upper face of the platform so that when the partition is now inserted into the receptacle means of the clip, the clip is firmly mounted upon Inor-- Although I have limited my disclosure herein to certain preferred forms of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in these without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of 5 the appended claims. V

I claim as my invention:

1. In a display counter apparatus, the combination of: a platform having a plurality of apertures; a clip having a base portion; means on said base portion received by any one of said apertures into locked relation with said platform; and a partition receiving and supporting member rotatably mounted on the base portion of saidclip, said clip supporting a partition on said platform at any desirable angle relative to the axis of said platform.

2. In a display counter apparatus, the combination of: a platform having a plurality of apertures;- a partition on said platform; a. clip at 20 each end of said partition, each of said clips having a base member and a partition receiving member rotatably mounted on said base meme her; and means on said base member received by one of said perforations into locked relation 25 with said platform, said clips supporting said partition at any desirable angle relative to the axis of said platform, said clips being held. in locked relation with said platform by said partition.

3. In a display counter partition supporting apparatus the combination of: a platform having a substantially continuous and unobstructed upper surface lying in a single plane, there being two parallel relatively widely spaced rows of relatively closely spaced apertures provided in said platform; clips for supporting opposite end portions of a transverse partition lying entirely above said platform, said clips having lugs adapted to extend into selected apertures of said rows to support said partition in any of a plurality of relatively closely spaced parallel upright positions above said platform; and a fitting for supporting an end of a longitudinal partition, said fitting having tongue means, there being a row of holes provided in said platform parallel with and between the aforesaid rows, said row of holes providing holes for receiving said tongue means to position said fitting to support an end of a longitudinal partition with the latter practically abutting against a side face of said transverse partition for any of the aforesaid positions in which said transverse partition is capable of being supported by said clips.

4. In a display counter partition supporting apparatus the combination of: a platform having a substantially continuous and unobstructed upper surface lying in a single plane, there being two parallel relatively widely spaced rows of relatively closely spaced apertures provided in said platform; clips for supporting opposite end portions of a transverse partition lying entirely above said platform, said clips having lugs adapted to extend into selected apertures of said rows to support said partition in any of a plurality of 5 relatively closely spaced parallel upright positions above said platform; and a fitting for supporting an end of a longitudinal partition, said fitting having tongue means, there being a multiplicity of closely spaced parallel rows of closely'spaced holes provided in said platform, said rows of holes being parallel with and lying between the aforesaid rows of apertures, said rows of holes providing holesffor receiving said tongue means to position said fitting to supporirfan end of a longitudinal partition with the latter practically abutting against a side face of said transverse partition in any ofa plurality of locations spaced at varying distances from the opposite ends of said transverse partition and for any of the aforesaid positions in which said transverse partition is capable of being supported by said clips.

5. In a display counter partition supporting apparatus the combination of: a platform having a substantially continuous and unobstructed upper surface lying in a single plane; means for supporting a transverse partition disposedvabove said platform in any of a plurality of relatively closely spaced parallel upright positions; and a fitting for "supporting an end of a longitudinal partition said fitting having tongue means, there being a 'row of holes provided in said platform along a line perpendicular to the aforesaid positions, said row providing holes for receiving said tongue means to position said fitting to support an end of a longitudinal partition with said end practically abutting against a side face of a transverse partition placed in any of the aforesaid positions in lel rows of closely spaced holes provided in saidplatform. said rowsbeing perpendicular to the aforesaid transverse partition positions and providing holes for receiving said tongue means to position said fitting to support an end of ,a longitudinal partition with the latter in any of a plurality of spacad locations'relative to the opposit'e ends of said transverse partition and with said end of said longitudinal partition practically abutting against a side face oi said transverse partition with the latter in any of the aforesaid positions in which said transverse partition is capable of'being held ,by said supporting means.

'I. A combination as in claim 3 inwhich fittings are provided for supporting ends of two-longitudinal partitions on opposite sides of said transverse partition and in which said row of holes;

provides holes for receiving the tongue means of both of said fittings to support ends of both of said longitudinal partitions with said ends practically abutting against opposite side faces of said transverse partition for any of the aforesaid positions in which said transverse partition iscapable of being supported by saidelips.

8. A combination as in claim 6 in which fittings are provided for supporting endsof two longitudinal partitions, one on each side of said'transverse partition, and in which said rows of holes provide holes for receiving the tongue means .of both of said fittings to support endsof both of said longitudinal partitions with said ends practically abutting against opposite side faces of said transverse partitions with each of said longitudinal partitions in any of a plurality of spacedlocations relative to the opposite ends of said transverse partition and with the latter in any of the aforesaid positions in which said transverse partition is capable of being held by said supporting means. I

9. A combination as in claim 4 in which a plurality of transverse partitions are provided and a sufiicient number of said clips are provided for separately supporting opposite end portions of said transverse partitions by the lugs of saidclips extending into said apertures, said transverse partitions being thus selectively located in any desired group of said relatively closely spaced parallel positions above said platform; a plurality of longitudinal partitions of such length as to fit in ROBERT L. MAPSON. 

